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PVV – givin’ it up for Nina Hartley

Nina Hartley.

Many of you know the name, some of you may know bits and pieces of the legend, and a few of you may know ev-er-y-thing about Nina… but I’m not sure a full concept of who Nina is and what Nina has done for the betterment of humanity is in the forefront of most persons’ minds. But because it should be, let’s take a moment to consider some of what she has done.

Nina the Performer

Nina began working as an adult performer in the early 1980s and has almost 900 adult film credits to her name. She continues to do scene work for various production companies and also shoots content for her official site Nina.com.

She is a very well respected performer and has been honored for her work numerous times throughout her decades-long career. For example, she won AVN’s Best Actress award for Debbie Duz Dishes in 1987 and two “Specialty” awards in 2005 – one for Nina Hartley’s Private Sessions 13 (BSDM) and another for Nina Hartley’s Guide To Spanking …among many many others.

Nina the Super-Smarty

Nina is a registered nurse. She graduated from nursing school in 1985. Ummm yeah… that’s not difficult or anything.

But Nina’s real passions seem to lie in sex and sex education. She has worked with Adam & Eve over the years to produce a number of Nina Hartley’s Guides including: Nina Hartley’s Guide to Better Cunnilingus – Under The Hood (1994), Nina Hartley’s Advanced Guide to Sex Toys (2001), Nina Hartley’s Guide to Double Penetration (2004), and Nina Hartley’s Guide to Bondage Sex (2008). She has also worked with Adult Industry Medical (AIM) on various efforts to educate new and incoming talent and published her book Nina Hartley’s Guide to Total Sex in 2006.

Nina the Activist

Nina is an industry icon and a representative. She is one of a small handful of persons called upon to speak on behalf of the industry when an articulate, balanced, and experienced perspective is needed. She is also a feminist activist and has advocated tirelessly for sexual choice, women’s sexual autonomy, and fun (sex? fun? yes!!) throughout her career. According to Nina:

“I came of age during the last time sex was considered to be, overall, more positive than negative. The 70’s were not just about lame politics and stupid clothing fashion, but also about thinking in new ways about sex, gender, culture and empowerment. The idea that women could take control over their own pleasure, and should communicate what they needed to their partners, and that the man was not solely responsible for my sexual happiness, were only a few of the important ideas that came out of that time.” (Nina’s full bio here)

Dang!!

Now don’t be fooled – Nina’s work as talent, her intelligence, and her activism are just the tip of this amazing iceberg. There’s more to Nina than could ever be captured in one quip-laden blog posting. She really is amazing.

I met Nina within the context of activism and industry representation at one of the Cal-OSHA hearings earlier this year, and her presence just blew me away, but still you may be thinking: “Why all the Nina-gush, Dr. Chauntelle?”

Well, aside from her being generally gush-worthy, Nina has had fibroid tumors in her uterus for about twenty years now. They are not cancerous, however they show no signs of shrinking/improving with menopause. Because of this and several other side-effects, surgery is the next step.

Nina’s hysterectomy is tentatively scheduled for late January/early February 2011; and depending on how it goes, recovery will take 2-4 weeks. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I sure as hell can’t afford to take 2-4 weeks off work …and neither can Nina. Thus, Give it Away for Nina is taking donations to help support Nina during her time of recovery.

Now don’t get all stressed about not being able to donate hundreds, or even tens, of dollars!! Even the tiniest bit will help, especially because lots of tiniest bits will add up.

Think about all the times you’ve “pondered” Nina (and/or her ass). Think about all the times you’ve ever wanted to do *something* and felt comfortable enough to ask your partner to join in… or felt comfortable enough to seek out whatever it was you were wanting for yourself. Think about how fun sex is and/or how fun you know it can be.

Now think about Nina… She has helped you, even if you never knew it. Now you should help her. I’m just sayin’…